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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday April 10 2019, @11:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the on-a-wing-and-a-prayer dept.

Alphabet's Wing launches drone delivery service in Australia

After months of testing, Alphabet's Wing division is launching a drone delivery service in Australia. It will cover roughly 100 homes in the suburbs of Crace, Palmerston and Franklin, just outside the capital city of Canberra. Customers will be able to request small goods, such as medicine, coffee and groceries, from a range of local businesses including Kickstart Expresso, Capital Chemist, Pure Gelato, Jasper + Myrtle, Bakers Delight, Guzman Y Gomez, and Drummond Golf. Wing says it will slowly expand to more neighborhoods "in the coming weeks and months" and "connect with more local businesses" to expand the products that are available to order.

It's a huge moment for Wing. The team, which started as a massively-ambitious "moonshot" project inside X (then called Google X) has been testing drones in Australia since 2014. The company had planned to launch a commercial service in 2017, but clearly fell short. Instead, Wing teamed up with Mexican food chain Guzman Y Gomez and pharmaceutical retailer Chemist Warehouse for some advanced trials in October 2017. Since then, Wing has delivered 3,000 packages to homes in Fernleigh Park, Royalla and Bonython -- three communities just south of Canberra, close to the border between Australia Capital Territory and New South Wales.

Previously: Google Wants Order in Uncontrolled Airspace So its Wing Drones Can Fly
Alphabet/Google-Chipotle-Virginia Tech Burrito Delivery by Drone

Related: Donuts in Flight in First US-Approved Drone Delivery
Amazon Reports First Ever Successful Autonomous Drone Delivery
New World Record Set for Longest Drone Delivery
Walmart Files Patent for a Blimp Warehouse


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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 10 2019, @02:41PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 10 2019, @02:41PM (#827447)

    Skeet [schlockmercenary.com].

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 10 2019, @02:43PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 10 2019, @02:43PM (#827449)

    Couple of tennis balls connected with elastic? Bola?